The technical field of this invention is that of carrier shells carrying a payload, for example one or more submunitions, and ejecting said payload in flight by means of a piston pushed by gas pressure.
Such a shell contains, in a known manner, a body provided at the rear with a band. A head and a base are threaded onto the front and rear ends, respectively, of the body. The interior of the body has a payload composed, for example, of at least one submunition. Housed in the tip of the head is a dispensing charge that can be ignited by a fuze.
Upon expiration of a time that is programmed before firing, the fuze ignites the dispensing charge which causes a gas pressure. The latter axially pushes a piston, which displaces the payload and the base in order to eject them from the shell.
One such type of carrier shell is described, for example, in French patent FR 2,363,077.
These carrier shells pose problems in terms of separation between the payload and the piston.
Specifically, the piston must decouple from the payload after ejection of the payload, but without disturbing its trajectory.